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Ho, ho, ho, hooooooooooooooo
Ain't nobody,
Love me better……………

When was the last time you was in a club and an old-school 80s joint came on that took everybody back and you just had to sing and belt it out?  Well for me it was this past Monday, August 27th, 2007.  The tune was "Ain't Nobody", its singer: bad ass Chaka Khan, the DJ spinnin' it: Bobbito, AKA, Kool Bob Love.  The place: Apartment. 
I left the club with a sexy, raspy voice, hoarse because for a minute I thought I was Chaka and since the music was so loud, I could scream it out and no one was gonna criticize me cuz they were doing just the same.  One brother next to me got all into it, started rubbing his boonkie on the wall and melting into the song. It was an audio despojo of black and brown peoples. It was beautiful.

My Boricua Brother Bobbito be giving out doses of therapeutic musical healing every last Monday of every month at Apartment in NYC's meat-packing district. 

Bobbito spins at apartment

The sounds which includes everything from latin jazz, to salsa, to hip hop, funk, soul and more, puts the crowd into a dance trance.

 
Photo by Ray Llanos- Apartment

But what's lovelier is to be at a club listening to beautiful music that few people got the know-how to spin and then right in the middle of it, have your ears blessed by the voice of Puerto Rican freedom fighter and former political prisoner, Ms. Dylcia Pagan, dropping some knowledge over the speakers before the music breaks into an off-the hook salsa.

My portrait of Dylcia

DJ Rich Medina, DJ Bobbito and B-Boy legend Crazy Legs chillin' at Apartment

OK, so now I'm gonna tell you a story about Happy Feet.  Happy Feet is a place where people check their egos at the door.  If you're coming to mack and look cute, this ain't the place for you. People come in comfy clothes and in their kicks cuz they know by the end of the night they're gonna be sweaty and straight up funky.  I'm gonna tell you how serious these cats are about dancing.  I watched, carefully observing, as one sista busted out with a thing of baby powder and strategically dusted the floor so her sneakers could glide more to the music. Don't believe me, here's a photo:

You see that dusty ass floor?! Baby powder kids!  This was bugged and beautiful. Reminds me of how as kids we used to get our one piece pajama sleepers with the zipper and the little footsies and do the same baby powder action to slide across the floor. It took a lot of coordination to keep from bustin' ones ass.

I didn't take a picture of my feet, ain't into feet, but I did take a picture of my Happy face and that of my hubby's, Ivan.  What had me so happy?, well where the hell else, besides my own ipod can I hear someone spinnin' the music of not one or two but 4 of my Soul Rebels!:

This is a detail of my Soul Rebels installation that was on the theater doors of El Museo del Barrio. L-R: Eddie Palmieri, Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Public Enemy, all of whom you will hear at a Happy Feet event.

Yes, again being blessed with the conscious music of my favorite Fela Kuti whose intelligence taught us how to subvert the dance experience, flippin' it on the nyash shakers by teaching about "Sorrow, Tears and blood" in West Africa and any where oppressed people be dancin' to their revolutions.  

Later my Happy Face turned even happier,as I zoned into a music high………..

Don't know about ya, but this coming Sunday, I'm gonna be at the next happy feet, gettin' my happy high on rebel rhythms at Club Element with Bobbito and Rich.  If you wanna be down….. here's the flyer:

And don't forget, the last Monday of each month, Bobbito spins at Apartment………….See ya on the flo'
Yaz

Image: by legendary Joe Conzo, check out http://www.joeconzo.com/html/main.htm for a visual history of hip hop.

www.myspace.com/bobbitogarcia
www.youtube.com/user/bobbitogarcia

www.richmedina.com

www.yasminhernandez.com